Sprinkler head



H. A. SWAN SPRINKLER HEAD Oct. 16, 1956 Filed sept. 1, 1953 4M 8 9 1% 24. 4/ m4 2\ .o 4 N 4 4\ Il l IIIIIIIIIIP IIIIIII'III IN V EN TOR. HAROLD A, SWAN AGINT5 FR APPLICANT United States Patent() SPRINKLER HEADHarold A. Swan, Coronado, Calif.

Application September 1, 1953, Serial No. 377,755

3 Claims. (Cl. 299-120) Ihe present invention relates generally to watersprinklers and more particularly to a sprinkler head for attachment to awater hose.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a sprinkler headwhich, installed in the end of a hose using conventional hose ttings,breaks up the water into a cone of small droplets rather than a finespray, thus achieving even distribution without reduction to a ne spray,it being recognized that much Water is carried olf in the air when atine spray is produced. The device is suitable for re fightingequipment.

Another object of this invention is to provide a sprinkler head having arotor which is extremely light in weight and which breaks up the Wateras desired without appreciable loss of pressure.

Another object of this invention is to provide a sprinkler head which isadjustable to control the range and spread of the Water.

Another object of this invention is to provide a sprinkler head in whichthe rotor and its mounting are designed for easy manufacture andassembly.

Another object of this invention is to provide a sprinkler head which isadapted for fabrication from many different materials, so that thechoice of material can be according to the dictates of availability andprice considerations, the exact sizes and proportions being matterseasily determined to suit particular conditions and needs.

Another object of this invention is to provide a sprinkler head which isinexpensive and practicable to manufacture.

Finally, it is an object to provide a sprinkler head of theaforementioned character which is simple and convenient to use, andwhich will give generally efficient and durable service.

With these and other objects definitely in view, this invention consistsin the novel construction, combination and arrangement of elements andportions, as will be hereinafter fully described in the specification,particularly pointed out in the claims, and illustrated in the drawingwhich forms a material part of this disclosure and wherein similarcharacters of reference indicate similar or identical elements andportions throughout the specification and throughout the views of thedrawing, and in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view, partially cut away, of the sprinkler head.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the device.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of an alternative structure forthe device.

Fig. 4 is an end elevation view of the nozzle shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view similar to Fig. 2, but showingan alternative method of mounting the rotor.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of the rotor mounting shown inFig. 5.

Y tates at high speed and agitates the water.

2,767,024 Patented oct. 16, s

ice

Fig. 7 is a partially sectioned side elevation view of one form of therotor.

Referring now to the drawing, the device comprises a lixed barrel 10having an annular ange 11 by which it is secured to the end of a hoseconnector 12 by means of a screw cap 14. An adjustable barrel 16 is ttedover the fixed barrel 10, said adjustable barrel having a nozzle 1Swhich extends inside the xed barrel. Within the nozzle 18 is a rotor 20which is rotatably mounted on a screen disc 22. The nozzle constitutesbearing-like means for laterally stabilizing the rotor, as Well as aconduit for the Water.

The hose connector 12 is a conventional tting having a screw threadedcup portion 24 and a serrated extension 26 which is force fitted intothe end of a hose 28. The screen disc 22 is placed on the end of the cupportion 24, a Washer 30 being used therewith to ensure a tight joint.The fixed barrel 10 seats on top of the screen disc 22 and is secured bythe end cap 14, which is also a conventional fitting designed to screwonto the hose connector 12.

The adjustable barrel 16 comprises an outer cylinder 32, the nozzle 18being concentric to said outer cylinder and integral therewith. Theinner surface of the outer cylinder 32 has screw threads 34 to engagethe screw threads 36 on the outer surface of the fixed barrel 10, sothat the adjustable barrel may be manually adjusted axially thereon.

The rotor 2) includes a shaft 38 having at its lower end a ball 46, saidshaft being passed through the open mesh of the screen disc 22 and theball, with the screen, serving as a loW friction thrust bearing. At theupper end of the shaft 38 are secured the vanes 42, which are shaped tobe rotated by the ilow of water through the device and are a close fitwithin the internal bore 44 of the nozzle 18. The vanes 42 aremaintained in properly spaced relation with the screen disc by a sleeve46 tted over the shaft 38, said sleeve being xed to the shaft or freelymounted thereon as desired.

As water flows through the nozzle 18, the rotor 20 ro- It has been foundin practice that the Water is broken up into tine droplets, which haveconsiderably more wetting action than a fine spray and the loss ofmoisture to the air is greatly reduced. It is contended that presentlyavailable sprinkler heads invariably break a considerable portion of thewater into such tine spray form, even when not adjusted for line sprayproduction. The ow of water droplets issuing from the nozzle may bevaried from a narrow pattern to a Widely spread pattern by moving theadjustable barrel in or out, and thus effectively shortening orlengthening the portion of the nozzle in front ol' the rotor.

For certain applications, a lixed nozzle may be desirable, in which casemy invention takes the form of the structure shown in Fig. 3. Thisstructure includes a hose connector 48, similar to the hose connector12, and an end cap 50, similar to the end cap 14. The nozzle 52 is ttedinside the cup portion 54 of the hose connector 48 and is supported by aflange 56, said flange having a shoulder 57 which is engaged by the endcap 50 to align the nozzle. The nozzle S2 has at its lower end aninwardly bent portion comprising a pair of support arms 58 and aresilient loop 60 therebetween, this structure being formed integrallywith the nozzle as shown in Fig. 4. The loop 60, constitutes a thrustbearing for the rotor 62a a similar rotor, the shaft of which is pressedinto the resilient loop and held therein While still being free to rotate. The vanes 64 of the rotor 62 are a close lit within the internalbore 66 of the nozzle 52, and are spaced from the loop 60 by arelatively short sleeve 68, the

general structure of the rotor being similar to that of the Vrotor 2i).The edges 69 of the rotor are serratedY The nozzle S2 is held in placeby the end cap 50, the

- joint being sealed by-a washer 70. The nozzle 52 Vand the rotor 62 maybe arranged to provide the iixed water pattern desired for a particularapplication.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 3, the nozzle 52 is separate from thecap 50, whereas inthe rst described embodiment the nozzle 18 is integralwith the outer V cylinder 32. However, the basic construction'with ref-Verence to the nozzle and rotor relationship is unchanged, since in bothcases the rotor is laterally stabilized by the nozzle. Y' i 5 l Analternative means for mounting therotor is shown in Fig. 5, in which thescreen disc is replaced by amounting frame 72, all other features beingsimilar to those in Figs. land 2. The mounting frame '72, illustrated inFig. 6, is a unitary structure of resilient wire or the like bent toshape and includes a pair of lower ring portions Y 74 which areoutwardly spaced from pairs Vof offset portions 76 and'7S, the-axes ofthe portions 74, 76 and 78 being substantially coplanar, a pair ofupwardly bent support portions Si) carry the upper ring 82 which issubstantially parallel to the ring portions 7e and the ring 82constitutes a bearing for the rotor 20, the end portions 84 also beingupwardly bent -to correspond with said support portions 80.

The lower ring portions 74 rest on the end of the t' hose connector 12and are held in place by the xed bar- Vrel l@ and the washer 30, theupper ring 82 being held concentric with the nozzle 1S and adjacent thelowerVV end thereof. t t

It should beY understood that. the shape or the rotor vanes is criticalsince this shape largely governs the size that the specication anddrawing are to be considered as merely illustrative rather thanlimiting.

I claim: Y 1. A sprinkler head for attachment to a hose havlng a hoseend connector, comprising a nozzle, means for securing said nozzle to ahorse end connector, said nozzle including an inner cylindrical portionadjacent one end of the nozzle, thrust bearing means adjacent the end ofsaid nozzle remote from said portion, and a vaned rotor having a shaftterminally and rotatably mounted in said bearing means and said rotorbeing axially disposed in said inner cylindrical portion, said innerportion constituting a lateral stabilizing support for said rotor.

2. A sprinkler head for attachmentto a hose having a hose end connector,comprising a nozzle, means for securing said nozzle to a hose endconnector, and avaned rotor rotatably mounted axially in said nozzle,thrust bearing means in said nozzle for the rotor, said nozzlecomprising means for laterally stabilizing said rotor as well as a'conduit for water, said thrust bearing means comprising abearingyelement near the inner end of said nozzle, an axial shaft. onsaid Yvaned rotor having a portion journalled in said bearing element,and an enlargement on the end of said shaft remote fromtthe vaned rotorand on the side of said bearing elementY remote from,V

said vaned rotor.

3. A sprinkler headrfor attachment to a hose, comprisi ing a screwthreaded hose end connector, an externall threaded barrel, an end capsecuring said barrel @to said end connector, a nozzle having an innercylinder and an outer concentric cylinder, said outer cylinder beinginternally screw threaded to engage said barrel, kwhereby said nozzle isaxially adjustable thereon, bearing means Y secured between said barreland said end connector, and

Y a vaned rotor journalled in saidrbearing means and dis- Y posedaxially in said inner cylinder, said inner cylinderV constituting alateral stabilizing 'support for said rotor;

said bearing meansY including a wire mesh disc, said rotorbeingrjournalled in an opening of said disc.

References Cited inthe tile of this'patent Y UNITED STATES PATENTSVV758,311 France a Nov. 3, 1933

